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The differences between staff design engineers and staff engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a staff design engineer and a staff engineer. Additionally, a staff design engineer has an average salary of $128,071, which is higher than the $107,530 average annual salary of a staff engineer.
The top three skills for a staff design engineer include architecture, RF and CAD. The most important skills for a staff engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Staff Design Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $128,071 | $107,530 |
| Hourly rate | $61.57 | $51.70 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 154,963 | 277,011 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Staff design engineers are tasked to assess the efficiency of instruments, technologies, and equipment by collaborating with the engineering team to plan, design, and develop technologies efficiently. Their responsibilities include building and setting up, as wells as improving systems and procedures. They should possess strong attention to detail, good visual and spatial awareness, creativity, problem-solving, excellent verbal, written, and project management skills, and strong mathematical and IT skills to become efficient and effective staff design engineers.
Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations. Other duties include designing and developing machinery, tools, and engines, solving design problems, and building the manufacturing equipment needed to create their products.
Staff design engineers and staff engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Design Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Average salary | $128,071 | $107,530 |
| Salary range | Between $89,000 And $182,000 | Between $69,000 And $167,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | HBO | Flexport |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a staff design engineer and a staff engineer in terms of educational background:
| Staff Design Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between staff design engineers' and staff engineers' demographics:
| Staff Design Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.7% Female, 24.3% | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 23.8% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 5% |